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Yale Launches Global Health Initiative
In an ambitious effort to further Yale University"s engagement in global health, President Richard C. Levin announced today the launch of the Yale Global Health Initiative. This is the first endeavor of the University"s new Jackson Institute of Global Affairs, which was announced in April. The purpose of the new initiative is to unite the many global health efforts across campus, foster innovative educational programs to address the growing student interest in global health, and stimulate and support faculty research to enhance healthcare around the world.
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Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology Conference, Stockholm, Stockholm, October 26-28, 2009
"Epidemiology is always important and topical, though sometimes unsung," says Professor Johan Giesecke, Chief Scientist at ECDC, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, "but the third applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology Conference in Stockholm in October this year will be an opportunity to put Epidemiology and infectious disease prevention and control into the spotlight; delegates will have the opportunity to discuss and share information on current and emerging infectious diseases, including influenza A (H1N1)v. The call for abstracts closes on July 3rd so there is no time to lose."
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Health Unit Reports Three Cases Of E. Coli O157:H7 In London
Over the last five days, the Middlesex-London Health Unit has received reports of three children with E. coli O157:H7. To receive three laboratory confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 in such a short timeframe is unusual. In two of these cases, the common food consumed was kofta (spiced ground beef) purchased on June 14 and 15 from the Westmount Halal Food Store located at 490 Wonderland Road South. The of the third child"s infection is currently unknown. This child"s family also eats halal food but did not purchase any food from the Westmount Halal Food Store.
Diagnostics

NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia Implants 100th Heart Valve Replacement Without Open-Heart Surgery

Over the last four years, heart specialists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center have implanted an innovative aortic heart valve replacement using a catheter-based approach that does not require open-heart surgery in a total of 100 patients -- the most of any U.S. medical center to date. Open-heart surgery can require a two- to three-month recovery period, compared to only a few days for the transcatheter approach. The procedures were conducted as part of multiple clinical research studies of the Edwards SAPIEN transcatheter heart valve. Currently ongoing is the PARTNER (Placement of AoRTic traNscathetER valves) trial, a Phase 3 multicenter study led by national co-principal investigators Dr. Martin Leon and Dr. Craig Smith and focused on the treatment of patients who are at high risk or not suitable for open-heart valve replacement surgery. The SAPIEN heart valve, made of bovine pericardial tissue leaflets hand-sewn onto a metal frame, is implanted via one of two catheter-based methods -- either navigated to the heart from the femoral artery in the patient"s leg, or through a small incision between the ribs and into the left ventricle. It is then positioned inside the patient"s existing valve, using a balloon to deploy the frame, which holds the valve replacement in place. Both procedures are performed on a beating heart, without the need for cardiopulmonary bypass and its associated risks. "This breakthrough technology could save the lives of thousands of patients with heart valve disease who have no other therapeutic options," says Dr. Leon, the study"s national co-principal investigator, associate director of the Cardiovascular Interventional Therapy (CIVT) Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center, and professor of medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Annually, some 200,000 people in the U.S. need a new heart valve, but nearly half of them do not receive a new valve for a variety of reasons. "This study may show that transcatheter valve replacement is a safe and effective alternative to open surgery, which remains the "gold standard" for most patients," says Dr. Smith, study co-principal investigator, interim surgeon-in-chief and chief of cardiothoracic surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, and acting Chairman of the Department of Surgery and the Calvin F. Barber Professor of Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. The transcatheter valve procedures take about 90 minutes, compared with four to six hours for open-heart surgery. In open-heart surgery, the surgeon cuts through the breastbone, stops the heart, removes the valve and replaces it. The PARTNER trial is a prospective randomized study with two separate treatment arms. In the surgical arm, patients are randomized to receive either the Edwards SAPIEN transcatheter heart valve or an Edwards surgical valve via open-heart surgery. In the non-surgical, medical management arm, patients considered to be non-operative are randomized to receive either the Edwards SAPIEN transcatheter heart valve or appropriate medical therapy. The PARTNER trial is designed for patients with severe aortic stenosis -- a narrowing of the valve that restricts blood flow from the heart -- who are not good candidates for surgery due to age or other concurrent health factors. The PARTNER trial is also available at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center"s Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute, led by Dr. Karl H. Krieger (vice chairman of cardiovascular surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and the Philip Geier Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College) and Dr. Shing-Chiu Wong (director of cardiac catheterization laboratories at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College). The Edwards SAPIEN transcatheter heart valve is manufactured by Edwards Lifesciences of Irvine, Calif., which is also funding the study. Jennifer Homa New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center


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